Top Essays USB Drive

This USB drive contains 100 of the top This I Believe audio broadcasts of the last ten years, plus some favorites from Edward R. Murrow's radio series of the 1950s. It's perfect for personal or classroom use! Click here to learn more.

The phenomenon known as precipitation has the peculiar ability to bring people together. More of a treat than a day at an amusement park; rain builds memories that last for a lifetime.

Over winter holiday, I spent a few days at my best friend’s apartment in Athens, Georgia. It soon began to rain on our two person parade. Trapped inside, we presently became bored and settled upon a game of Scattergories to pass the time. This brilliant idea culminated with a rousing game on the kitchen floor, small papers strewn about us as we sprawled across the linoleum, using a microwave oven as a replacement for the broken timer.

That evening, we planned an all night movie marathon and a strangely stereotypical college dinner: pizza. On our way to pick up dinner, we stopped at the Athens Publix store to buy supplies for the all night movie marathon that we had planned. To our dismay, my best friend locked her keys in the car just in time for the rain to resume. We dashed back into Publix for shelter and made a quick emergency call to Road Service, only to be transferred to five different offices- none of them operating in Athens. We made an emergency coffee run to the Jittery Joes across the street; and the cashier proceeded to demonize himself, grossly underestimating our ages; he disappeared, and reappeared three cups of black coffee later to flirt with us; it was just in time for the critical call from Road Service to come through. It would be another hour.

Rather than stay at the coffeehouse with the demon cashier, we returned to the Publix. My friend insisted on staying within sight of the parking lot, just inside the automatic doors in the front of the store, surrounded by shopping carts, and discussing the deep questions in life. We had a deep heart-to-heart conversation there in the shopping cart corral in the front of that Publix covering everything from school to self-confidence.

Rain brings unforgettable experiences. It is the greatest teacher of self-awareness. It is the strongest bonding agent. It is memorable.

Essay of the Week

A chance encounter in a coffee shop introduced writer Rachel Richardson to a man who had many stories to tell. Ms. Richardson came to understand that everyone has a story, and our lives can be enriched by listening to the stories of others.Click here to read her essay.